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UNITED STATES Patented February 16, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

HEBER A; HOPKINS, OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSICNOR TO AMERICAN SODAFOUNTAIN COMPANY, -OF- JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION `OF NEwJERSEY.

SODA-WATER APPARATUS.l

SPEGIFICATIONforming part of v Letters Patent No. 752,453, vdatedFebruary 16, 1904,

Application filed February 25, 1903. Serial Nh. 145,017. (No model.)

To all whom it mag/concern:

Be it known that I, HEBER A. HOPKINS, a citizen of the United States,residing at the city of Cambridge, in the State of Massachusetts, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Soda-Water'Apparatus, ofwhich the following is a full, clear, and exact description, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, of which- Figure l is avertical' section. Fig. 2 is an enlarged horizontal section on line .frFig. 1. Fig. 3 is a vertical section of a modified form ofthe invention.Fig. 4 is an enlarged horizontal section on line y y, Fig. 3.

In soda-water apparatus as generally constructed the pipe that leadsfrom the source of water-supply opens directly into the upper part ofthe usual tank for containing the water and carbon dioxid under heavypressure, and it frequently occurs that when the tank is allowed tostand for some time charged with the water and gas the latter willescape through a leak in the usual check-valves or otherjoint inthewater-supply pipe, so that when the attendant at the fountainattempts to draw off the soda-water he finds that there is no pressurewithin the tank. Consequently the latter must be recharged with gasbefore any water can be drawn off.

The purpose of my inventionis to provide a simple and effective devicefor preventing the entrance of the gas from the tank into thewater-supply pipe, and thus obviating the possibility of such leakage.

The precise nature of the invention will clearly appear from thefollowing description,

, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which the same orcorresponding parts are designated by the same characters in the severalfigures. Y

l denotes the usual tank for containing the gas and water; 2, thegas-supply pipe; 3, the water-supply pipe; and 4, the outlet-pipe to thesoda-water fountain. A

The pipe 3 communicates with a passageway 5 in a head 6, that is screwedto the tank,

which passage-way leads into the latter, being virtually a continuationof the said pipe.

Referring now particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, which illustrate thepreferred form 'of the invention, I extend the water-supply pipe 3 to apoint adjacent to the bottom of the tankM that is, below the water-levelfw w-by means of a pipe-sectionf?, leading from the passageway 5. I alsoemploy a pipe-section8, whose upper end extends to a point near the topof the tank-that is, above the said water-leveland I connect the lowerends of these two pipe-sections to a box 9, having a chamber 10 and anopening 11 through the bottom thereof. 1Within this chamberisaball-valve 12, made, preferably, of india-rubber and about thespecific gravity of water, which ball is adapted to seat in a concaveenlargement 13 at the upper end ofthe opening, and thus to close andopen the latter under the circumstances now to be described.

When the water is allowed to enter the tank by way of the pipe 3, theball 12 will be caused by the pressure of the inflowing water to seatover the opening 11, as in Fig. 1, and thereby prevent the escape ofwater through the latter. Consequently the water will ascend the pipesection 8 and flow out into the tank through the upper end of thepipe-section or, as in the usual construction, through a suitablespraying-head 14. y

When the water is not flowing into the tank, the valve 12will rise fromor remain loosely seated over the said opening. It will be obvious thatwhen this occurs the gas cannot escape into the water-supply pipe, as ifthere should be any leakage in the usual checkvalves or other joint ofsaid pipe it would be a leakage of water only, the water to take theplace of such leakage entering the pipebyv `way ofthe openingll of thevalve-chamber.

The modified form of theinvention illustrated in Figs. 3 and4 is in thenature of an inversion of the form shown in Figs. 1 and 2. In thismodified form the valve-chamber 10 is within the head 6, which thussubstantially becomes the box 9 of the first form, into which chamberleads the water-supply pipe 3 and from which chamber extends thepipe-section 8, having the spraying-head 14 at the top. The opening 11of said chamber is upwardly into the bottom part of the tank instead ofdownwardly, as in the flrst form, and the concave seat 13 for the ball12 is at the lower end of said lopening, all as clearly seen in Fig. 3.

The mode of operation is substantially theV same inthe two forms, theball being in the modified form forced upwardly to close the opening 11instead of downwardly, when the (the water) escapes into the latterthrough the upper end of the pipe-section 8.

It will be observed from the foregoingdethe invention may properly besaid to be an opening in the water-supply pipe or conduit at a pointbelow the Water-level. within the tank and a suitable valve in saidpipe' adapted to automatically close said opening whenand only whenwater is flowing through said pipe, so that the water will then bedelivered into the tank from the upper free end ofthe pipe.

In order to have the valve or ball 12 act also as a checkvalve to arrestthe escape ofl water from the tank in caseof a leak in the water-supplypipe, I sometimes provide a seat 15 for the ball in the chamber 10g atthe inlet end of the waterfsupply pipe into said chamber, so that waterentering through, theopening 11, induced by theoutliow from a leak inthe water-supply pipe, will cause, the ball to, close the inlet end ofsaid water-,Supply pipe.

I do not limit myself tothe precisel construction shown in the drawingsnor'to, the useY of. the particular kind of valve Shown therein, as theconstruction may be modified and valves of other kinds used in lieu of aball.

Having thnsdesoribedniyinventiomlelaim as new and desire to-seoure byLettersPatent-f l. In a Soda-water apparatus, the eelrhine-` tion with.the tank, of the Watensnpply pipe extending below and openingabove thewaterf level in said tank, `there being an opening in said pipe belowsaid. water-'leveh and a, valve adapted to normally open said opening,

l saidpipe, and having an opening below said waterflevel, and asuitablefbal'lfva'lye. within Vsaid chamber. adapted to normally opensaid 'opening and to close thev same bythe lpressure of water flowingthrough said pipe, substan- -tially as and for thepurpose set forth.water is allowed to iow into the tank, and itA 3. In an apparatus of thecharacter described, the combination with the tank, of the water-supplypipe extending downwardly ad- 1 jacent tothebottom of the tank, the pipeexscription that the essential. requirements ofl tending upwardly from apoint adjacent to the lower end ofl said first-mentioned pipe to. apointabove saidwater-.leveL the chamber with which the lower ends ofsaidpipes communicate, there being an opening throughl said chamber, and aballjyalvewithinsaid. chamber adapted to normal-1y open said opening andto close the` sameby, thepressure of waterwhen owing through seidpire'snbstantielly as. and for the purpose set forth.

4- In i en. apparatus of the. eharaeter.V Vdescribed, theeoirnbinetionwith thetenk, of the waterfsupply. pire. extending belowtheWaterfl levelin Said tank, e chamber with .which seid pipe communicates,e pine leading from. said ehaxnbenand extending above thewaterflevelwithin said tank, there being an opening in Seid 'chamber into thetank,4and avalveadapted to. Closey Said opening byV lthe pressure. of Wet-eriiowing. through. said water-.supplypine into said. chamber; and to,onen Saidionenins andalso to. .eloeethe end et Seidl Water-supply pine.and arrest the .exit-.Of wetertherefroin in easeot a leek in. Said pine,Substantially asendfor the purpose. set forth- In. testimony whereof I.here. hereunto. eff xed my. signature this. 30th. ,day of Jennery,

` HEBER. A.. H OllNS.. Witnesses JOHN. R.. Heier.' THOMAS. Moeten.

